The Evolution of a CrossFit Vendor

Mar 16, 2018

Hey Guys!

For those of you who do not know me, my name is Tanya, and my fiancé and I are the owners of Southern Apparel. We run a screen printing shop located in Lafayette, LA.

So, I am super excited about this blog thing. I have always wanted to start one, not really sure why, but it always sounded like something fun to do. So, this is all going to be about Joel and me, where we began, where we are now, what we do, how that can help you and your business, and the list goes on…

Let’s start from the beginning (or shall I say, my beginning). I met Joel during Mardi Gras of 2016. When I met him, he told me about this “t-shirt business” he owned and operated out of his apartment. That’s right, I said it, APARTMENT! Well, when I finally got to visit this home/work space, I was in shock. Not only did he eat, sleep, and shower there, but he was also designing, printing, and packaging t-shirts out of his kitchen. It was quite a sight.

Honestly, until that day, I never knew how in the world a t-shirt was actually printed

. I am pretty sure I thought it was printed on a computer printer contraption…WRONG (college did not teach me about screen printing). But seriously, how many people know the process one goes through when screen printing a t-shirt? It is mind blowing.

So, at first, I was like a little minion helping Joel out here and there. I honestly had no interest in it, but I would help out with whatever he needed. Well, I would say about 6 months went by and my feelings totally changed. When we first met, he was primarily printing his own designs and selling them retail, but that changed. The business started to drift towards custom orders. For some reason, this got me interested. I LOVE LOVE LOVE communicating with people, meeting with people, etc. So, I was now able to do this because we needed a strong customer service base in order to print these custom orders. So, that is when I became superwoman! I began handling all customer service, managing inventory, delivering orders, visiting customers, bookkeeping, and the list goes on. I fell in love with what I was doing. It feels so good to see a customer’s face when they get that t-shirt in hand and it is exactly what they envisioned, and that is our #1 goal…CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. We would not be where we are today without each and every one of our customers, and I want to take a moment to say, “Thank you; you guys rock!”

It has been quite the journey; we have expanded this business dramatically, moving from working out of an apartment kitchen to working out of a fully functional shop with “big boy” equipment. I still giggle sometimes about the past and wonder how we managed to work in such a little space at one point. However, we did it, and it makes us so grateful about where we are today.

So, I am sure you are wondering why we chose the name “Wodstyles” for this blog. Well, we have customers in all different industries, but we found our main “niche” almost a year ago. Our niche is working with CrossFit gyms and athletes. Joel and I are both into fitness, so we can relate to our customers and assistant them in finding the perfect garment and design that will work best for their gym and their members. Needless to say, we love it!

Well, I guess that is it for now. Stayed tuned for cooler, more interesting posts! I promise, you won’t want to miss it ;)